In the history of modern literature, the three characters "Lin Huiyin" seem to exist and are resounding because of the three characters "Xu Zhimo". I got to know Lin Huiyin because of my reading of Xu Zhimo, and then I got to know Liang Sicheng because of Lin Huiyin. I believe that most readers are the same as me. In this way, Liang Sicheng's head is shrouded in a certain tragedy, which makes me feel a little sympathetic. (In fact, as the eldest son of Liang Qichao, Liang Sicheng was the founder of Chinese architecture after 1949. The most famous contemporary architecture department, the Department of Architecture of Tsinghua University, was founded by Liang Sicheng. But because he did not engage in literature, his name Few people know this, for the same reason that Li Siguang is not as famous as Qian Zhongshu)
Xu Zhimo also came from a prominent family, which is now said to be a capitalist family. His father, Xu Shenru, was a wealthy man in Xiashan Town, Zhejiang Province. He ran a bank and was a famous banker. According to his father's wishes, Xu Zhimo should pass on his father's business from son to son. Therefore, when he went to study in the West, he studied economics. But soon he felt that economics had nothing to do with him. He often interacted with writers, and gradually lost sight of economics. Soon he dropped out of school and traveled around Europe and the United States. In London, I heard that the famous calligrapher and poet Lin Changmin was here, so I came to ask for advice. Unexpectedly, I met Lin Huiyin and fell in love immediately. This provided more research topics for later researchers of literary history.
When he met Lin Huiyin, Xu Zhimo was already the father of a two-year-old child. At the age of 24, he was eight years older than Lin Huiyin and was an elder brother. At that time, his wife Zhang Youyi and their children came to London. After Xu Zhimo launched many fierce offensives, Lin Huiyin's seemingly solid defense line finally broke. She said to him: I am not a woman with casual feelings. You must make a choice between me and Zhang Youyi. Romantic Xu Zhimo immediately went home and told Zhang Youyi that he was planning to divorce. Although Zhang Youyi felt it was too sudden, she still treated the matter rationally and immediately took her children to study abroad in Germany. (When Xu Shenru heard that his son treated his wife like this, he angrily announced that he had severed the relationship between father and son, stopped providing food, and handed over the bank business and property to Zhang Youyi. After that, the eldest son of the Xu family relied on his own hands to support himself. Zhang Youyi His eldest brother is Zhang Junmai, a prominent political figure in the early Republic of China, and his second brother Zhang Jia'ao was the president of the government's Central Bank at that time.) Lin Huiyin became a third party, and the consequences of this intervention were serious. In fact, Xu Zhimo also became the third party, because Lin Huiyin was also engaged to Liang Sicheng at that time. What is very interesting is that as the father, Lin Changmin actually agreed with the love between his daughter and Xu Zhimo, forgetting that he had already betrothed his daughter to the eldest son of the Liang family.
However, Lin and Xu's good times did not last long, because Lin Changmin's European tour ended soon, and she had to return to China with her father. By the time Xu Zhimo rushed back to China, Lin Huiyin was engaged to Liang Sicheng. Xu Zhimo is a student of Liang Qichao. In front of the teacher, what else can he do except restrain himself? But before meeting Lu Xiaoman, Xu had always missed Lin and was always a frequent visitor to Liang and Lin's home.
Liang and Lin often had conflicts after studying in the United States. When they were intense, Lin wrote to Xu Zhimo in China. Because of this, Xu Zhimo always had illusions about Lin. Liang and Lin Xuecheng taught at Northeastern University after returning to China. Later, due to Lin's poor health, he spent some time recuperating in Xishan, Beijing, without Liang around. During this period, Xu often went to Xishan to visit Lin. Because of such an experience, later researchers always thought that the relationship between Xu and Lin had gone beyond the limits, but no one could provide evidence. Therefore, the extent of Xu and Lin's relationship is probably still an unresolved matter. Soon, Xu met a married woman, Lu Xiaoman, at a dance in Beijing. Xu stepped in again and married Lu. Xu was not happy after his marriage, or even very unhappy, and often confided in his friends, mainly Hu Shi, Lin Huiyin, and Ling Shuhua, until he was killed in 1931. Lin wrote two articles in memory of Xu in 1931 and 1934 respectively, showing his true feelings.
It should be said that Xu Zhimo’s influence on Lin Huiyin was huge. Without Xu Zhimo, Lin Huiyin would not be engaged in literature. When they first met in London, Xu often wrote poems to Lin. Lin's son Liang Congjie said in "Collected Works of Lin Huiyin" that Lin Huiyin once told his children personally that Xu wrote many poems for Lin, the most famous However, when we look at the poem "Accidental" now, it doesn't seem like it was written to Lin, because Xu has never been so free and easy about Lin's existence.
Of course, without Xu's influence, Lin's achievements in architecture may have been much greater. She had a wide range of interests and failed to leave a masterpiece in any aspect.